The “Gospel Ship” Song Dubbed as country music’s first family, The Carter Family did not only focus on recording country songs but also specialized in Southern gospel music. One of their beautiful gospel recordings was called the “Gospel Ship.” The song was first released in 2000 and appeared multiple times on the vocal group’s several albums. These were Can the circle be unbroken?: Country Music’s First Family (2000), Country Music Hall of Fame: 1970 (2000), In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain (2000), The Collection (2001), and The Carter Family, Vol. 2: 1935-1941 (2003). Different sources provide varying information as to who the song’s real author is. AllMusic.com says the composer is Traditional and by this, it means the song has no established author. It belongs to those tunes dating back to the pre-publishing era. On the other hand, Classic Country Lyrics credited the writing to one of the group’s members, A.P. Carter.
from Countrythangdaily.com
N.B. The above article was the only "historical record" for the "Gospel Ship" song that I found, though the web site "hymnary.org" has A.P.Carter identified as the author and a 1939 copyright held by Tennessee Music and Printing Co. That site also has it appearing in 20 hymnals at least as far back as 1942. Many of them list "Alphus LeFevre" as the author. The only biographical information I found on "Alphus LeFevre" was in a Find a Grave entry which said he was a "Singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, accordianist, guitarist, and violinist - Was a member of The LeFevre Trio and The Bible Training School Quartet - Gospel Music Hall Of Fame Inductee". Wikipedia has a biographial article on A.P.Carter but doesn't include the "Gospel Ship" song among the few credited songs written by him. His family tree indicates he is a great-uncle of June Carter Cash, wife of Johnny Cash.